The Eugene Generals announced earlier today that eleven (11) players will be suspended for Game 1 of their best of five NOR PAC Pacific Division Semi-final series against the Seattle Totems for violation of team rules. The eleven players will also be suspended for Game 1 of the NOR PAC Pacific Division Finals if the Generals are able to upset the Totems in the first round of the playoffs.

Generals Head Coach Chris Hartly has very strong feelings regarding the violation, and expresses his, and the Generals organization’s, feelings in the following statement. “Every rule that is in the player’s contracts is put in place to ensure the wellbeing and safety of our players. Every player is required to sign the player agreement, and they are aware of the consequences of every action they take,” Hartly stated earlier today. “Every member of the coaching staff and our General Manager came to a consensus on what was the best form of action to take in this situation. We decided together that the suspension was in the best interest of the individual players, the team, and the organization.”

Even with the stiff penalties, the Generals don’t feel like they are throwing away their chance at a successful playoff campaign. “It will be extremely tough to come out of that first game with a win. We will have to pull together as a team to overcome this situation,” Hartly said. “We feel like with our entire team we have a great chance to win the Cascade Cup and earn the NOR PAC bid to the National Tournament. I also believe that it is incredibly tough to win a game with only thirteen players on the ice, but I strongly believe that our players can do amazing things if they put their mind to it. With that in mind, we will not, under any circumstance, put our success on the ice ahead of our morals and the rules of the player agreement. We are not only in the business of building better hockey players, but also building better people. When our players leave the Generals we want them to be able to succeed at the higher levels of hockey, and in life when their hockey days are over. If we swept this situation under the rug it might benefit them on the ice, but it would not be teaching them how to be better people. These are only a few of the reasons we have chosen to respond to the violation in this manner.”

The Generals will face the Seattle Totems with only thirteen men on the roster this Friday, February 16 at 8:00 PM at Olympic View Ice Arena in Mountlake Terrace, WA. The Generals full roster will meet the Totems on Saturday, February 17 at 7:30 PM at Olympic View Ice Arena. Both games will be broadcast on GiTV in audio and video. For more information on upcoming games and GiTV please visit eugenegenerals.com.

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For more information:Chris Bilder, Public Relations/Marketing, Eugene Generals541-359-4154 (office)541-680-6222 (cell)